This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for California’s remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem type—its distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of California’s ecological patterns and the history of the state’s various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the state’s ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of California’s environment and curious naturalists.

This book provides recent environmental, ecological and hydrodynamic information for the major estuaries and the coastal marine systems of the Western Indian Ocean Region. It covers various functions and values of the region’s estuarine ecosystems and their respective habitats, including the land/ocean interactions that define and impact ecosystem services. The Western Indian Ocean region covered by this volume consists of the continental coastal states of Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania and the island states of Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros.

Systems Biogeochemistry of Major Marine Biomes A comprehensive system-level discussion of the geomicrobiology of the Earth’s oceans In Systems Biogeochemistry of Major Marine Biomes, a team of distinguished researchers delivers a systemic overview of biogeochemistry across a number of major physiographies of the global ocean: the waters and sediments overlying continental margins; the deep sub-surfaces; the Arctic and Antarctic oceans; and the physicochemical extremes such as the hypersaline and sulfidic marine zones, cold methane seeps and hydrothermal ecosystems. The book explores state-of-the-art advances in marine geomicrobiology and investigates the drivers of biogeochemical processes. It highlights the imperatives of the unique, fringe, and cryptic processes while studying the geological manifestations and ecological feedbacks of in situ microbial metabolisms. Taking a holistic approach toward the understanding of marine biogeochemical provinces, this book emphasizes the centrality of culture-dependent and culture-independent (meta-omics-based) microbiological information within a systems biogeochemistry framework. Perfect for researchers and scientists in the fields of geochemistry, geophysics, geomicrobiology, oceanography, and marine science, Systems Biogeochemistry of Major Marine Biomes will also earn a place in the libraries of policymakers and advanced graduate students seeking a one-stop reference on marine biogeochemistry.

The aquatic ecosystem is a major subdivision of the biosphere, and covers almost 71% of the earth’s surface area. Coastal ecosystems mainly include estuaries, deltas, lagoons, mangrove forests, mudflats, salt marshes, salt pans, other coastal wetlands, ports and marinas, aquaculture beds, sea grass beds, coral reefs, and soft bottom environments above the continental shelf. Although coastal ecosystems represent only a small area of the world’s oceans, they are of great ecological and economic importance. Now-a-days, many of the coastal ecosystems of the world are being exploited for various development projects, resulting in deterioration of habitats and resources. Therefore, the present study focuses on two of such important coastal ecosystems such as estuary and mangrove. Estuary is a dynamic area with varying physical and topographical conditions, with neritic province, river delta, lagoon, backwater, mangroves, mudflat, and salt marsh, all being part of this vital area. Estuaries are important areas of human use for fisheries, transportation, aquaculture, and recreational pursuits. Thus, by virtue of their natural location and easy accessibility, estuaries are more amenable to anthropogenic influences. Mangroves are specialized ecosystems developed along estuarine seacoasts and river mouths in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, mainly in the intertidal zone. Hence, the mangrove ecosystem and its biological components are under the influence of both marine and freshwater conditions and have developed a set of physiological adaptations to overcome problems of anoxia, salinity and frequent tidal inundations. This has led to the assemblage of a wide variety of plant and animal species of special adaptations suited to the ecosystem. The book Pollution Status of Coastal Environment of Gulf of Khambhat, India covers an extensive study at Mahi Estuary and Vamleshwar Mangroves (Gulf of Khambhat), Gujarat, India. The authors have explored hydrochemistry, geochemistry, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and benthic community, along with site-specific conservation and their management strategies in both the marine environs. The book will be a ready reference to academicians, scientists, students, researchers, and marine authorities of the State as well as the Country, to enhance the knowledge in the field of mangroves and estuarine ecology, biodiversity, conservation, restoration, and management.